1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to equipment for grooming or maintaining horses, and particularly to an equine hoof rasp for maintaining the hooves of a horse between farrier visits.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the United States and throughout the world, thousands of people keep horses and use horses for a variety of purposes including riding, showing, and as draft animals. Horses, of course, have hooves and the hooves must be maintained to prevent damage to the hooves, such as splitting, and possibly to the horse as well. In most cases, to protect the hooves, the horse is shod. A person who cares for the hooves and shoes the horse with horseshoes is most often referred to as a farrier.
The hooves grow and one of the most important aspects of hoof maintenance and preparation for shoeing is to keep the hooves trimmed. Trimming the hoof can be a difficult task, especially for the non-farrier. Horse hooves are very tough and it is physically difficult to cut through the material. However, sharp edges on the hooves must be rounded to prevent cracking. Additionally, rounding flares put undue stress on the entire hoof capsule, so these should be removed as soon as possible. Removing flares and edges when they begin will usually stop undue stress on the hoof capsule, joints and tendons of the horse. It will also stop cracking and maintain balanced, symmetrical hooves. Healthy, balanced hooves are usually created, and are seldom inherited. However, typical farrier visits at five to eight week intervals usually cannot achieve optimum performance alone.
Currently, farrier tools for maintaining equine hoofs involve simple filing tools that require holding a horse's foot in the farrier's lap when attending to each hoof. But, horses are large animals, and it is often difficult for the non-farrier person to control the animal during the trimming maintenance. Additionally, farrier tools are not conducive for an average non-farrier person to attempt basic hoof maintenance, due to the nature of the tool. It is well known that ease of use contributes to how often maintenance is performed and by whom.
Thus, an equine hoof rasp solving the aforementioned problems is desired.